The Chemical Weapon
by Magnus Parvus
Summary: This Birds of Prey story features guest stars galore including: Robin, Spoiler, Batgirl and Alfred. Its quality easily competes with the best of the published comics in the series.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1 Canary's Conspiracies.

Black Canary pushed a cart filled with cleaning supplies. She wore all white cleaning scrubs and yellow rubber gloves. Both the scrubs and the baseball hat she wore were inscribed Pentagon Cleaning staff. "You know Ollie would approve of me cleaning up government."

Canary pushed her cart into a room filled many cubicles, each filled with a desk and computer. Oracle's voice came over Canary's earring. " I need you, to take every keyboard you can find and replace it with one of mine."

Dinah looked around to see two people still typing away in their short cubicles. "There are people still working here."

Dinah's gloved hand reached for one of the computer keyboards. She rubbed it with her cloth.

"This place is always busy, just follow the plan." Oracle intoned.

She placed the keyboard inside a bucket inside the large garbage bag attached to the cart.

The liquid in the bucket bubbled and some smoke rose from it.

"That liquid will dissolve the old keyboards…" Oracle said.

Dinah pulled a new keyboard from under her cleaning tray.

"…So that they can be replaced by my modified keyboards. They have small transmitters imbedded in them. Everything that's ever punched into that keyboard will be known to me, encrypted passwords, secret files, you name it." Oracle announced.

Dinah dusted the computer monitor while plugging back in the keyboard.

She went over to where geeky looking guys were working. Coffee cups lay beside both their keyboards.

"Are you nuts? Kirk would kick Picard's ass. I mean, since when did Picard get any babes."

The other geeky fellow conceded. "Well Kirk did get all those trashy alien women."

Dinah came up behind them. She flaunted herself in front of them and said in a low sultry voice. " Well boys I'm a trashy woman. "

They turned around and stared lustily at Dinah. "Huh?"

"I said I'm the trash woman, just in time too seeing as how you boys are all dirty."

Dinah slid in front of the two. She bent over provocatively, accidentally, on purpose spilling coffee on both keyboards with her butt cheek.

Dinah apologetically picked up the keyboard pretending to clean it, in order to switch them. "I'll be right back in a second guys. This'll be as good as new."

Dinah poured some liquid into the bucket she used to dissolve the keyboards. "So this stuff will neutralize the acid so I can just flush it down the sink?"

Oracle replied. "Yup. That's it. Mission completed Dinah."

Dinah pushed the cart before her, ready to exit the building. "What's next cleaning the Kremlin?"

As Canary passed a door she heard voices on the other side. She cocked her ear to the door.

She went over to the door, which was opened just a crack.

A voice came from behind door. "The loyalists are going to lose unless we intervene."

A second voice said. "So we give them that that abomination so that they can even the odds?"

A look of interest came over her face as Canary stopped by the door.

She pulled something, that looked like a mechanical snake from her pocket. Oracle called out over her earring. "Canary what's up?"

" We lose all influence in the region if the loyalists fall, we have no choice, general sir." The first voice sounded again.

" But the risk…"

Dinah pushed one end of the snake thing through the crack in the door. One end had a small video camera.

Canary watched the other end, a small television screen showed two men talking inside the room. One of them had a mustache and wore a slick well tailored suit, the other who was older and had a slight paunch wore a highly decorated military uniform, with bore the stripes of a generals rank.

The suit continued. "Is negligible, general. Once we show our trump card, resistance will crumble."

The general responded. "I'm not so sure…"

The man in the suit leaned over him. "Decapas will not fight a battle he knows he can not win."

The man in the general's uniform frowned standing before several large projected maps of central and the northern part of South America. "You should never underestimate what someone will do when backed into a corner. This has the potential to blow up in our faces."

The man in the flashy suit looked the military officer in the eye. "I guarantee you it will, if we don't act. Just sign the papers release project Alpha Omega into my care. I'll take care of everything."

Canary positioned the camera so that it focused on the papers the man in the suit had pulled from his briefcase.

The man in the military uniform bent over to sign them. 5 bars 5 stars appeared on the sleeve of the general as he signed General Mills. "Just make sure none of it comes back to me understand. I want no evidence of this ever transpiring."

The man in the suit filed the signed papers back into his briefcase. "This document is as good as shredded General."

Oracle busily sifted through information, large amounts of data scrolled up the large holographic screen. "There is absolutely no reference anywhere to this Project Alpha Omega, in any of the pentagon files."

"Must be very hush-hush. They're probably afraid of people like us finding out about it." Dinah did exercises on the parallel bars behind her.

"I've nailed the country they were talking about. Eltoledo is a tiny country with a history of bloody guerilla warfare. It was ruled for years by the military regime of General Francass." Oracle looked at the highlighted country of Eltoledo on the holo map.

Canary somersaulted off the bars, landing square on her feet. "Let me guess a brutal dictator who was on friendly terms with the US."

Oracle stared at two images on the screen. One of them revealed a stocky man. He wore a flamboyant military style uniform with puffed out shoulders with golden tassels hanging from them. It was decorated with metals and badges of all sorts. He also wore a red sash across his chest. The other image showed someone in a military outfit that was very plain. He wore a simple soldiers beret.

Oracle relayed the information. "It seems our boy Francass was deposed by one Jose Decapas last year when the populist rebels captured the capital. Decapas closed the American embassy and cut all formal ties with the US."

Oracle pulled up more files on the screen in front of her. "Hmm… that's interesting, seems Decapas is classically educated, a law degree from Cambridge."

"Maybe you should check out some stuff on the CIA." Dinah optioned.

"The CIA? What makes you think they're involved?"

"It's only natural. They're always mixed up in something."

"You're letting your bias influence you. I prefer to go with what we know as fact rather then speculate."

Oracle scrolled down the page, on the computer screen was a section from a newspaper. The headline read. "Eltoledo in turmoil as rebels capture General Francass' palace."

"Hmm…" Oracle stared at the screen.

The picture in the article showed the palace of General Francass. It looked like an old Spanish fort. Two flags on the top of the palace were burning. One was yellow with an eagle in the middle. The other was the American flag.

Under the picture in smaller letters it read. "Presidential Palace burned to the ground. General Francass flees to American embassy."

Oracle looked to a computer screen at the map of the county. " There's still fighting going on in the boarder regions. The Red Cross has various relief stations in the area. That's the best place to go to get on the ground floor about what this is all about."

Deep in the South American jungle, two soldiers with rifles in hand stood before a large army tent with the Red Cross symbol emblazoned on it. A huge section where the tent was placed was cleared of forest. A dirt road intersected the area. A voice came from inside the tent. "As you can see we are completely understaffed as usual."

" Well I'm here to do whatever I can." Dinah looked to the to the many cots filled with wounded soldiers in the makeshift hospital. A tangled array of I.V. drip bag poles and other medical equipment were scattered about the working groups of doctors and nurses.

The female doctor she talked to stripped off her bloody surgical scrubs, mask and gloves. A stethoscope dangled around her neck. "Alright go around and collect the bedpans and empty them into the outdoor latrine."

Canary sneered disgusted. " Bedpans, yeech!"

Dinah wore her costume under a large white apron. She wore latex cloves and a surgeons mask pulled over her face.

Canary emptied the bedpans in the latrine. " War IS hell."

She heard a thuda, thuda, thuda sound outside the latrine. " Wait I hear a chopper."

A helicopter landed in a clearing. Groups of soldiers ran hunched over to the chopper and removed a wounded man on a stretcher. Oracle called over her radio. "That's your ride to the front, Canary."

Oracle, in the tower, looked at a map on the computer screen. "Loyalist government troops are hiding out in the foothills of the mountains. Reports are that while they are well equipped with some small arms, and various munitions and equipment, most likely provided by Uncle Sam, they are however seriously outnumbered."

Dinah approached the helicopter. She shielded her ear from the choppers noise so she could hear Oracles voice. "The mountains serve as a border between Eltoledo and the country of San Salasta. The Salastans are officially neutral. Unofficially they have been aiding the rebels since the start of this conflict. The loyalists are now with they're backs up against the wall. They have nowhere left to retreat and they're practically down to no heavy equipment."

Dinah stuck her heads through the large hole in the choppers side.

"Well hello sweet thang." said the tough and brawny helicopter pilot, with large mirrored sunglasses on. Two earflaps hung way down from his bombers hat.

He looked at the bedpan in Dinah's hands. "Strange supplies for a field medic. Going into the combat zone though, you just might need it honey."

Dinah leaned over the pilots seat as he drove. "You been doing this kind of stuff long stud?"

"Name's Hank, and yes I'm an old hand at this, ever since Nam, I can put this baby down safely anywhere from the Redwood Forest to Staten Island. Impressed yet, sugar?" Hank pulled pushed forward on the helicopters flight stick.

Dinah slid one hand down around his neck and onto his chest the other played with the large air flap of his cap.

"It's Dinah, but you can call me sugar."

Hank smiled broadly.

Dinah held her mouth to his ear. "What would really impress me is if you could land behind the front, near the mountains without being seen."

Hank's smile turned crooked. " Why do I always have to attract the crazy ones."

Hank's expression darkened considerably. "Listen Sugar," he said icily, "I got wounded to pick up and deliver. I'm here to save lives and I ain't gonna be part of your damn CIA espionage racket. You wanna aid loyalist CIA stooges? Do it on your own time. Ok Sugar."

Canary put both hands up palm outward as if to ward Hank off. "Whoa Hank, its not like that ok. Something's going on between the loyalists and certain American agents that doest seem exactly kosher. I just want to find out what it is."

"You some kind of reporter?"

"Something like that. What can you tell me, is the CIA involved?"

"I dunno about that for sure, but I figure they gotta be involved somehow they's always involved in something."

Canary smiled slyly "I hear ya Hank."

"All I know for sure is that the loyalists have been getting their hands on loads of artillery cannons as of late, the kind of hardware that they didn't have before. Heck until about a week ago the loyalists were all but down for the count. There's something going on that's for sure." Hank directed the helicopter toward some sort of landing pad on the ground. There were several soldiers nearby attending to the wounded on the ground.

Oracle interrupted. "Ask him is he's heard of Project Alpha Omega."

"Ever hear of a thing called project Alpha Omega?"

"Alpha Omega? Wasn't he the little rascal with that funny hair always sticking up? Use ta sing Clemintine or some such?"

Canary shook her head. "Never mind."

Hank landed the helicopter.

Two soldiers carrying stretchers rushed toward the helicopter.

Hank saluted her. "This is our stop. Good luck with your reporting sugar."

The helicopter behind her took off. Dinah, wearing a backpack and still in her medical scrubs, waded through the smoke on the horizon. There was a sort of trench leading to a sheltered area with filled sand bags making small bunkers two or three tanks could be seen parked nearby. "There's so much smoke and dust here I can hardly breathe."

She past by a soldier, who was kneeling on one knee and praying with rosary beads in his hand. "Any idea on how I get through no mans land, to the other side?"

On the computer screen in front of Barbara was a satellite image of the field of battle. Smoke from the battle clouded much of the screen. "Just a sec, I want to get rid of the fog of war."

The computer screen had two images. One that said current satellite image, the other said topographical representation.

The satellite image was a picture of the current battlefield with the smoke of battle present.

The topographical image was a perfectly clear computer image.

Oracle combined the two images.

The map now before her showed the mountain range on one side, the open plain on the other. There was a river running down from the mountain. Dinah's position was highlighted on the map near the river.

"Dinah, there's a small river that should lead to the enemy encampment. Just follow it upstream it should provide fairly adequate cover."

Dinah ran into the dense jungle beyond, stripping off the doctor's scrubs that she has been wearing, reveling her costume underneath.

Dinah stood before a river forested on both sides. She slipped on a set of goggles and slipped into the river. There was a green skuzzy mold on the surface of the water near the banks. " Dammit! I just had my hair done."

Dinah did the breaststroke up river. The rainforest closed in on top of her, the trees from either bank having their limbs touch one another.

"Dinah I hear a splashing sound."

"Yeah I'm swimming, following the river upstream like you said."

"I meant by following along its bank. It's the middle of the South American jungle. Lord knows what's in that river." By the bank of the river a scaled alligator tail slid underneath the slimy water, creating bubbles as it dove in.

"You could be attacked by piranha or…"

The alligator's jaws yawned wide just in front of where Canary was swimming. Canary's face drew back in pure horror. "Crocodile!"

End of Part 1

"The Chemical Weapon" m


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2 Stranded in the Jungle.

The alligator stood with open maw before Canary. "Crocodile." She yelled.

There was an audible snap as the alligator closed its jaws. Canary just barely avoided them it.

"Crocodile! Ha, ha!" Oracle laughed. "It's impossible Dinah. There are no crocodiles on the American continent."

Canary clung to the back of the alligator. She used one arm on the snout of the alligator to keep its jaws forced shut. "Tell that to Crocky I'm wrestling here, I have his jaws forced shut."

The spray from splashing of water flew everywhere around the alligator and canary on top of it. Canary used her semi free hand and grabbed something from her supply belt. "If I can just reach my taser wand."

Because she had loosed her grip the alligator shook her off. She landed away from the alligator with a splash.

Oracle called over Dinah's earpiece. "No Dinah! The water! You'll fry yourself too!"

The alligator opened its jaws once more and took a rush at Dinah.

Dinah tossed the object she grabbed from her belt at the alligator. It flew into its gaping jaws. "Damn! Thanks for the warning but I grabbed the fire extinguisher by mistake anyway."

The alligator chomped down on the object as Canary desperately tried to fling herself out of the way.

Oracle shouted to her. "Oh my god Canary! Dinah!"

The alligator came toward her again. It loomed large before her. It even seemed its torso started to swell.

Dinah stared in horror as it came at her. "Even though I hate them, I wish I had a gun."

The alligator puffed up like an inner tube and exploded. Canary raised her hands up to protect herself. "What the hell?"

Canary stood waist deep in the water. The water where the alligator was was now full of red and bubbles. Pieces of alligator slime covered Canary's costume. "It just blew up."

"What did you do?" Oracle asked astonished.

" I threw my portable fire extinguisher in its mouth."

Oracle stoked her chin thoughtfully. " I get it. It must have been punctured. The compressed fire retardants expanded upon release."

Dinah washed the chunks of alligator from her suit. "And crocky go boom."

Dinah moved up river close to the shore the. " Looks like more deadly predators up ahead. I can see smoke and hear gunfire not far from here."

Oracle stared at a blip on the computer screen in front of her." I got your location as being near loyalist lines."

Oracle sat in front of the computer screen. She reached out touching the wheel of her chair. " I've always found reasons for avoiding using handguns, I guess I fear them a little, circumstances being what they are. But just now you being armed could've helped save your life. I mean I never questioned my dad strapping on his gun every morning before work."

Dinah climbed up out of the river and looked out at the army encampment. Several large tents were erected before a huge mountain. Dinah hid behind trees and shrubbery. She looked out to see several loyalist soldiers hunkered down among sandbags. " I am armed Oracle, literally. My arms and legs are far deadlier weapons than most idiots with a gun will ever be."

"You're trying to tell me you have a killer body. The way you flaunt your arms and legs sometimes Canary makes me wonder who's the bigger man-eater you or the crocodile."

"You're just jealous." Canary reached into her backpack.

"Maybe I am."

"And I thought you said Crocky didn't exist in this part of the world."

"That's true. That wasn't a crock. Pardon the pun."

"Speaking of reptiles…" Canary pulled a frog out of the sack. "Your Kermit here has some recon to do."

Oracle 's computer screen filled with a fish eye lens picture of Dinah. " The image Kermit is broadcasting is coming in perfectly clear. Geez Canary you look awful." Oracle looked to a slime covered canary.

"I guess swimming in River Crocky isn't exactly the healthiest of pastimes." Canary controlled the robot frog on the ground with a joystick in her hands.

"Just point him in the direction you want and press the jump button."

The frog hopped along the ground. "This thing is wonderful. I have to get one for my nephew for Christmas. He'd love it."

"Just be careful you don't get it run over on the freeway."

"What?"

"Never mind. Steer him toward that group of soldiers."

The soldiers stood and sat on the sandbags nearby. They wore tattered and dirty uniforms. The frog hopped on the ground near them.

One of the soldiers spoke. "I told you, the general has assured me that in 24 hours time the rebel resistance will be annihilated. We shall march unopposed back to the capital, and throw the traitors out of the palace."

He added looking less confident. "Ahem… The one that wasn't burned to the ground."

Another soldier answered him. "I pray you are right captain, for if not we shall all surely die."

Oracle watched the two soldiers on her computer screen seen with a fish eye lens. "Looks like their moral is none too high."

The captain scolded the soldier. "Such defeatist talk is near treasonous, I want to hear no more of such ideas from any of you."

"Yes captain."

Oracle spoke over Canary's earpiece. "Canary I've rigged Kermit with a psychoactive gas dispersion system. It acts on the brain to produce a lack of concentration. Their judgments and reactions will be impaired, without them realizing they've been drugged. The effects will last around two hours. It should give you the advantage you need to slip past them. Just press the fire button on the joystick."

Kermit's cheeks bulged out like a bullfrog. Clear smoke emitted from it's mouth.

The captain standing directly over the frog turned to his men. "You men just … Um what was i going to say?"

Another soldier slumped off the sandbag he was resting on." I don't know… what… huh?"

The group of soldiers looked blankly into space.

Canary sneaked past the group and headed toward the tents behind them.

Oracle spoke over Canary's radio. "From what I overheard they must be planning to use this secret weapon 24 hours from now."

Canary leaned her back against one on the tents. She remained unnoticed as two soldiers passed by near her.

Dinah whispered. "Whatever this Alpha Omega is, it's got to here in one of these tents."

Dinah entered one of the tents through the front flap.

Oracle called over her earpiece. "Are you planning on checking each one of them out? It'll take forever Canary. Not to mention might get you discovered."

Canary swept into the tent. Inside there were 3 surprised soldiers, behind them various supplies lined the walls.

Canary took out one with a kick, while striking another on the chin, knocking him backwards with her open palmed hand.

The two men slumped to the ground. The remaining soldier looked toward Canary frightened. He stumbled to bring his weapon to bear. "Santa…"

Canary kicked the last soldier fiercely in the groin.

He fell to his knees with a look of utter anguish on his face. He whispered in a quite voice. "…Maria."

A rope was tightly wound around the neck of the soldier. Canary held the end of the noose controlling how tight it was. "Oracle do you know any Spanish?"

"Some."

" How do I ask this creep where the boss is?"

Canary wore a uniform absconded from the soldier she questioned, who was now tied up behind her. The beret she wore was pulled down over her ears to hide her earrings. She moved through the encampment towards a tent that had two guards in the front.

She smiled broadly as she saw the man in the suit that she had spied on at the pentagon approaching the tent. "Pay dirt Oracle. The jerk from the pentagon is here. He's heading into the generals tent."

Oracle gazed at her computer screen. "If you use Kermit, I'll be able to see what going on inside."

The frog hopped along the ground toward the tent.

Dinah called gently to it. "Hop to it little fella."

General Francass was seated at a large desk inside of a rather large tent. The man in the suit leaned over the edge of the desk staring at the maps spread in out on it.

General Francass puffed on a cigar. " Well, what news? When will my soldiers be able to drive the rebels back?"

The suit replied confidently. "In the morning resistance will crumble, your enemies will be dead or dying."

"And my men?"

The suit smiled reassuringly. "Have nothing to worry about, everyone is receiving immunization their morning rations. It's already arranged."

Francass blew rings of smoke from his mouth. " And how are you sure that the agent will infect all the rebel scum?"

The general spread his fingers over the map before him. "The battlefield is spread over several kilometers."

The suit held up an artillery shell in one hand in the other hand he held a small metal object much like an overlarge coin. "The agent Alfa Omega is compressed into these magnetic spheres."

He compressed the sphere into a slot in the artillery shell. "They are fastened to the artillery shells before they are fired. When the shell explodes the agent's spheres are cracked open. The liquid agent turns to gas and is carried along with the smoke in whichever direction the wind blows. Only a small amount needs to be inhaled for the agent to be effective. The fog of war will bring death to our enemies."

Far in the distance a shell hit the ground. The smoke resulting from the explosion drifted over the rebel soldiers taking cover on the ground.

Canary wandered through the camp wearing her stolen uniform.

An officer yelled in Spanish at Canary. "You there! What do you think you are doing?"

Canary turned, taken by surprise. "Er, ah… um… bonjour."

The officer squinted at Canary suspiciously. He spoke again in Spanish. "You should be at the front. Do you mean to desert the cause?"

Oracle spoke over her radio. "In Spanish say you need to pick up supplies. Its…"

Dinah spoke to the officer in bad Spanish. "Er, non estes… er ondely."

"Oh hell." Canary head butted the officer knocking him unconscious. "Ondele, Ondele, he ha."

Canary picked up the body.

Oracle prodded her. "I see we're using the stealthy sneaky approach."

Canary carried the unconscious officer into a nearby tent. The tent was empty of personnel but was instead full of shells, rifles, and explosives. One of the containers was labeled. Top Secret. Property of U.S. Government. Agent A. O.

Canary smiled looking at the box. "I think I've just struck gold Oracle."

Dinah sifted through the box labeled A. O. It was filled with small metal sphere like objects. "Looks like I found agent Alpha Omega."

Oracle stared at the cinders through the robotics frog's eyes. "Careful Dinah from what I can tell there seems to be a powerful toxin a nerve gas or the like inside those cylinders."

Dinah rolled the cylinder in her hand. "The question is now that I found them how do I get rid of them, before they dump this stuff on an unsuspecting army. Largely made of farmers and deserters."

Oracle responded. "From what I overheard the loyalist army is already immunized against the agent."

Dinah smiled looking at a case full of high explosive. " So it's ok if I blow this place to smithereens."

Dinah placed a small object with a digital timer on the crate of explosives. "I'll just attach this small explosive to this big explosive."

Oracle replied. "Just so long as you're long gone by the time it goes up, you're not immunized, remember."

Dinah headed out of the tent, dragging the officer she head butted behind her. "Too bad I just can't leave senior pain in the butt here to get blown up."

Dinah was suddenly struck in the head with a blackjack.

Her world faded into blackness.

Oracle called out looking at the image of a group of tents she was receiving from the frog. There was no sign of the Black Canary. "Canary? Dinah are you ok?"

A bucket of water was splashed in Dinah's face. She lay bound with ropes on the ground. "Huh, wha… what's the…"

Dinah looked up to see four soldiers sticking rifles with sharp bayonets in her face. Behind them was the American in the suit. "Point… of this."

Canary's arms and legs were bound. she was sitting on the floor, her back up against a tent wall. Before her were 4 soldiers with bayoneted rifles pointed at her

Canary rubbed her head where she had been hit by the blunt instrument. "My head is killing me, any of you fellas got an aspirin."

The man in the slick suit laughed at this. "Yes I suppose you would like an aspirin soon enough."

The man in the suit leaned over her. "The Black Canary? Is it not? Your presence here could spell no end of trouble to my plans. Therefore I'd thought it best to remove you as quickly as possible. Do you see that patch on your arm?"

Canary looked at her arm the sleeve had been rolled up and a bandage resembling the patch used for people trying to quit smoking. That patch contains the agent Alpha Omega. Right now it's being absorbed into your skin. A very slow but secure way for the agent to infect someone. We used it to test the troops to see that they were properly immunized. If we were to use the gas compound you'd be out so quickly I wouldn't be able to get to tell you the terrible thing that's about to happen to you."

Dinah fiercely stared back at him. "I know what you're planning you psycho. But you won't get to release that poison of yours on those unsuspecting troops."

Oracle listened as a voice speaking Spanish came from nearby speakers.

Oracle shouted. "Canary can you hear me. It seems one of the soldiers got your necklace so I can't hear you but because they're harder to remove I'll assume you've got your earrings on still. That bomb is going to go off in about 4 minutes."

Canary smiled up at the suit. "In fact, I'll stop you soon, in about 4 minutes."

The suit took the small bomb that canary had attached to the crates and showed it to her. The timer had stooped at 8 minutes.

Canary looked down disappointedly. "Damn." She whispered softly.

The suited man explained. "Believe it or not the agent is not toxic in and of itself. Once a person is dosed, the liver metabolizes the agent. This metabolite is the actual toxin. The most immediate effect is the sudden onset of compete and utter muscular paralysis. Its chemical metabolite builds up in the blood making the victim's paralysis more acute, until it reaches such levels that the heart stops, usually in less than 24 hours."

Canary looked up at him disgusted. "The United States, using chemical weapons against innocent people?"

"Might I remind you dear that these innocent people you're talking about are armed soldiers. Soldiers loyal to a regime that has, like Cuba, broken off diplomatic relations with the United States. "

"Oh I get it. You want your little puppet what's his name Frank's ass back in the driver's chair."

"Frankly sweetheart, I don't give a damn about Francass, this country or what happens here. Just so long as those weapons get deployed."

"Oh you're one of that kind huh, just following orders? General Mills is behind all this."

"You know about Mills? Well it doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon enough. General Mills is an easily manipulated fool. I'm here halfway around the world for the thing that makes the world go round. Money."

"The best of it all, my dear, is that the cure for your malady is simple acetylsalicylic acid."

"What?"

He bent down and whispered in Canary's ear. Canary's eyes widened.

She looked to him unable to speak "…"

"What's the matter dear? Frog in the throat?"

Canary smiled, staring at the robot frog as it hopped into the tent.

Oracle moved the joystick controller. She stared at the computer screen in front of her, which displayed the image of the suited man and Dinah inside the tent. "I'm going to release Kermie's confusion gas, it'll give you a fighting chance to get out of their, hold your breath Canary."

The frog's cheeks puffed out, it blew gas out of its mouth.

The suit frowned down at canary oblivious to the frog emitting the clear hazy gas. "This is unfortunate. In truth I really do hate to kill anyone as beautiful as… about… whatever… What was I talking about?" He stopped at looked blankly into space.

Canary quickly used one of the bayonets pointed at her to slice through the rope tying her hands together.

The men in the tent looked into space, completely unaware of what was going on around them.

Canary then grabbed a bayonet off of one of the surprised soldier's rifles.

Canary tore a hole in the back of the tent with the bayonet.

Canary approached the soldier guarding the front the tent. In his hands he was admiring the necklace he had taken from Canary.

The soldier whipped around to face her.

"Don't worry I know you're only a soldier and you might have a family. But you hit me and took my jewels. So I'll just hit you it the family jewels." She kneed him in the groin.

Then she hit him cleanly in the back of the head and he slumped unconscious.

Canary spoke into the necklace that the soldier had stolen from her. "Oracle can you hear me?"

"Oh thank god. I guess the gas worked."

"They dosed me Barb. They dosed me with the agent." Dinah ripped the patch off her arm. "And I gotta tell ya I feel pretty crappy right now. I don't think I'm going to make it out of here."

"Move Dinah head for those hills on your left. Go, go now."

Dinah ran from the camp groggily, her head swam. " I really, really don't feel so good Oracle, get me out of here."

Oracle typed away at her keyboard. "Don't worry Dinah. I'll send somebody to get you out. You just get to those hills."

Canary reached up and grabbed the rock face above her. Oracle assured her. "The Calvary is on the way girl."

A soldier spotted her as she climbed up one of the hill. He shouted in Spanish. "There she is."

Canary ran up toward the mountain foothills. Shots were fired at her but missed her above her head.

Canary stood on one side of a 6 feet wide crevice in the rock. A few shots were fired missing Canary and ricocheting off the rock behind her. "I'm between a rock and a hard place Oracle. I mean that quite literally."

Canary looked down into the pit below her. "There's a small chasm between me and freedom, normally I could jump it no problem. But the way I feel now. God I'm so tired."

Oracle said. "Jump it Canary, you can't give up now. We've still got an entire army to save. I know you can do this. I have faith in you"

Canary spread her legs wide as jumped in the air between the two ledges. "I guess that would make this a leap of faith."

Canary's foot touched the other side of the ledge. "One gigantic leap for womankind."

Canary ran along the side of the mountain. She heard a whoop, whoop, whoop in the background. "I'm clear Oracle, where's that rescue you promised me."

"I think I hear him now."

Canary looked up to see hank's helicopter approaching her. "It's Hank but there's nowhere for him to put down."

The side hatch of Hank's helicopter opened and a rope ladder was tossed out the side.

Canary looked up. "Oh."

The ladder swung by Canary. She grabbed on to it while bullets whizzed past her striking the rock behind her.

"I hear gunfire." Oracle's voice bleared.

"Dammit sugar, that's cuz they's shooting at us." Hank called into his radio.

Canary climbed the rope ladder as Hank gained altitude. Several more bullets whizzed by in the air past her.

Canary crawled in through the side of the chopper on her hands and knees.

Hank pushed the flight stick forward. "Man that was close, almost like back in Nam, extraction under enemy gunfire. You ok sugar?"

Oracle asked. "Are you alright Dinah?"

Hank looked back at Canary. She lay unconscious on the floor of the helicopter. "Sugar?"

"Dinah? Canary?"

End of Part 2

"The Chemical Weapon" m


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3 The Canary's Blackness.

The small jet flew high above the clouds, under the cover of the starlit sky.

-We're 30 000 feet in the air, I don't know what I find the most intimidating the fact that were supposed to jump from this height, or the fact that were jumping into a war zone.

Robin stood in the plane in full costume. He wore a helmet and his nose and mouth were covered over with a breathing mask. He also wore a parachute strapped neatly to his back.

Steph crossed her arms and stared at the ground frustrated. "This is like so totally unfair. I should get to go too."

Oracle shook her head. "Forget it Stephanie. You're not going and no amount of sulking is going to change that."

Alfred flew the small jet while Oracle sat in the copilots seat. Batgirl, who wore the same gear as Robin, strapped on her parachute. "Wasting time. I'm ready."

Alfred stared out the cockpit window. "It's only our third pass over the area in question, need I remind you that severe weather in this area of the tropics seldom lasts very long."

Batgirl looked at Oracle who worriedly browsed through files on a small laptop. "We should go now."

-Normally I'd object, normally Barbara would object, the fact that she doesn't tells me we don't have time to wait for better conditions.

Robin headed toward the rear of the plane where the jump hatch was located.

Batgirl began to follow Robin. She was grabbed on the arm by Oracle. "Batgirl, keep him safe."

She looked to Oracle questioningly, and then left to follow Robin.

Robin and Batgirl held hands as they leapt from the plane. Beneath them lit by starlight they could see the storm clouds.

-Truthfully, although she scares me a bit, I'm glad I'm going into this with Batgirl.

-Beneath us is an entire army. Beside me is a one-girl army.

Robin gritted his teeth as they passed through the storm cloud.

-I feel the electrical static in my teeth going through the clouds.

They passed through the cloud to the storm underneath. Flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance.

-We rip into the mist having reached terminal velocity.

-Instantly we're drenched. There's a bitter cold sting on my face, as the wind rushes past.

"My lord." Alfred looked out the large rain soaked cockpit window, he saw huge anti aircraft guns surrounding the small airport.

"Don't worry Alfred. We're listed as a private aircraft registered to Wayne Pharmaceuticals. a division of Wayne corp. international. So technically were not an American flight. Besides Decapas is very interested in foreign trade and economical development of the country, as cover I've arranged a business meeting with some members of the govt." Barbara sat beside him.

"Trade and development? I had understood this Decapas as somewhat of a socialist. "

"Decapas broke off formal diplomatic relations with the US because they supported Francass, and his totalitarian regime. But the new govt. he is developing is based on American constitutional laws and govt. practices."

"Hmm…A man of stark dualities. Well miss Gordon I suppose you should get along well with him."

The small jet touched down on the airstrip.

Robin peered at the green tinted ground beneath him with his starlight lenses.

-I'm going to hit like a ton of bricks with the rain weighting everything down.

Robin did indeed hit the ground hard. His legs bucked from underneath him and he slumped to the ground.

-Uhg that hurt.

He dragged himself to his knees. He pulled the goggles that had had slipped from his face back up to his eyes.

-So dark under the tree canopy. Can't see a damn thing.

He tapped at the goggles on his face.

-Something's wrong. The goggles keep blinking in and out.

He looked out at the rain soaked jungle. All about him he could see the thick dense underbrush.

-No sign of Batgirl. No signs of any hostiles either. So far so good.

The night vision goggles failed him once more. He could see nothing but black around him.

-Oh great.

He tapped at the side of the goggles.

-This thing works worse then the headlights on my dads old…

The night vision goggles flicked on once more. Robin froze as before him stood a giant spotted cat ready to pounce.

-Jaguar!

Steph exited the jet carrying a large box in her arms. "What's in here anyway?"

Oracle followed her, rolling her chair down the exit ramp of the small jet. "Electronic equipment that I'll need your help setting up."

"But I don't know much about that kind of stuff. I could have gone with Batgirl and left Robin to help you. He's the computer wiz."

"Enough Steph, I don't want to hear it anymore, that's a war zone he jumped into. I didn't bring you to South America to get killed."

Oracle put her hand up to cover her eyes from the sun as she peered off in the distance. "Is that… it is. It's him."

"Damn." Oracle slammed her fit down onto the armrest of her chair. "What's he doing at the airport?"

Steph leaned over Oracle. "Who is he?"

Oracle gazed through a set of binoculars at the man. The same suited man that she had witnessed conversing with the American general. "I dunno exactly but he's majorly involved in this whole business."

Oracle sighed. "Steph I need you in action after all."

The jaguar leapt on Robin knocking him flat on his back. It's claws tore into his shoulders and its teeth folded around his neck.

-Steel neck gorget saved my life again. But not for long if I don't disable this cat pronto.

Robins and the jaguar on top of him began to crackle in electrical energy.

-Suit taser should take care of…

The goggles that Robin wore around his eyes sparked and fizzed. A shower of sparks flew from them. "Argh"

Robin stared into blackness. Several large dark spots colored his vision.

-Damn lenses shorted out.

He struggled to push the unconscious cat off of him.

-At least Kitty's down for the count.

"Que?" A figure in the distance shouted.

-Oh no. Soldiers!

Robin stood and held his hands to his face.

Two men with Green military uniforms ran toward the area where Robin stood. They pointed their automatic rifles at him.

They shouted at him in Spanish. Robin put his hands slightly over his head.

Suddenly, from the bushes behind Robin, Batgirl leapt out.

She sprang upon them punching each one of them simultaneously in the chest.

They were knocked backwards forcefully. She looked to their unconscious forms as she pulled the mask from her face. "Robin…"

She turned to look at Robin. He stepped forward towards her.

Her eyes widened in horror. She flung herself out forcefully to him.

She grabbed him by the chest and flung him backwards.

They landed softly on the ground. She pointed to the area from where she had pulled him. A small gleaming trip wire could be seen hooked up to a primitive explosive device. She looked to him scornfully. "Are you… are you blind?"

Robin raised the burnt out goggles from his eyes. The area around them was burnt and slightly reddened and the tissue around them was swollen. He looked bleakly to her with his puffy eyes. "Yes, Batgirl I am."

Steph walked behind the suited gentleman as he turned to the small airport. There were several people with him, all similarly well dressed and some of them quite husky.

"The bulges in those guys suits aren't just muscle. Looks like every one of them is packing serious heat."

She looked over to a scruffy sleeping airport security worker. "Not that airport security would ever notice."

She watched as the suited man and a couple of his companions seated themselves at a dingy small airport bar. The man and the woman dressed in pilots uniforms went into the small room marked airport pilot's lounge.

Steph followed sneakily into the room behind them.

Robin held his head in hands tightly. "Oh my head is killing me."

-Now I'm no wimp. I can deal with a little pain.

-Dislocated shoulder for instance. Hurts like hell. But honesty you can hack it. You can will yourself to ignore it, at least for a time when you have to.

-Headache different story. How can you will to ignore something that does all your thinking?

-Right now my thinking is heavily impaired.

Robin sat clutching his forehead. "Ohhh…"

Batgirl looked sympathetically at Robin. He held two tablets in his hand. "I don't want to take these painkillers. They always make me so loopy, and I can't concentrate."

"But I can't concentrate right now. I can hardly walk strait."

"I can help." Batgirl approached him removing her gloves.

"Huh?"

"I know ways of pain killing. Ways that will not… impair… your performance."

"Really? Cain taught you healing techniques?"

"Uh, no." She turned her eyes down. "But it will help with the pain."

Batgirl probed Robins naked back with her fingers. She probed on the base of the spine near the neck.

Robins face turned up in a smile. "What did you do? The headaches just melted away. I feel as good as ever. Still can't see though."

Robin strapped on his red plated armor. "Thank you very much Batgirl."

Then he turned to her puzzled. "Why would Cain teach you something like that?"

"Not every mission can be done alone. Sometimes… need henchmen."

"That doesn't sound like Cain. Why wouldn't he just leave the henchmen or better yet kill them so they can't rat him out?"

"Sometimes henchmen… needed to… complete mission. Kill afterwards. Better to be… prepared."

Robin grinned. "Funny, in a way that sounds a lot like Batman."

She looked at him confused.

He added. "Well, you know except for the killing afterwards part."

Steph ran up to Alfred as he carried several suitcases to a small van.

"Alfred! Alfred you gotta come with me quick."

"Excuse me miss Stephanie?"

"You gotta help me impersonate the pilots who fly that suited guys plane."

"Excuse me miss Stephanie, but I can assure you, that despite my assistance in helping pilot miss Gordon, that I am not a costumed adventurer."

"But you gotta help me Alfred. I can't fly a plane by myself."

"Fly a plane?" He looked at her confused.

"Yeah!" She held up a pile of clothes topped by two pilots' hats. "I already tied em up and stole their uniforms. C'mon Alfred you gotta help me. Canary's life is on the line."

Alfred sighed resigning. "Very well then." He grabbed one of the uniforms from Stephanie.

"Well you'll never guess whom I ran into." Oracle rolled her chair toward them followed by Hank.

"I'm sorry but we've a problem on our hands miss Stephanie has gone and done something rather rash. And I'm afraid I will not be able to assist you in transporting you to the hotel."

"Alfred this is an unmodified rented van. I can't drive myself."

"Now hol' on there lass. Ol' Hank can help you out."

"You'd go out of your way to drive me?"

"Ain't really hardly going out of my way darlin'. Seein' as you're going to see Miss Dinah an' all."

Alfred and Steph rounded the corner dressed in their pilot's uniforms.

Steph pointed to a small jet that was being attended by various technicians on the ground. "That's our flight." Steph pointed. "Apparently it's a hired flight so there they aren't too familiar with the flight crew."

"And had you considered the flight plans. We are to be transporting this gentleman and his companions, I venture he should become suspicious if we do not know our destination." Alfred walked to the plane.

"That's the thing Alfred. The pilot didn't know the flight destination. He said they would just give him a set of G.P.S. coordinates. That's why it's important to take that flight. If they're being secretive then they must have something to hide."

Sunlight was beginning to peer over the horizon but under the cover of the dense foliage it remained quite dark. Robin held onto Batgirl's cape as he followed her blindly through the dense wet rainforest. "The bats leading the blind."

Suddenly large blasts and bangs and booms could be heard in around them.

"They've started shelling again."

Robin raised his feet high into the air so as not to trip over the underbrush as he walked behind Batgirl guided by hanging on to her cape. "Batgirl the banging is getting loader. Are we headed toward one of the cannons?"

Suddenly Batgirl stopped. She held her hand to Robin's chest to signal him to stop as well.

She looked at a small squad firing a huge artillery cannon.

A group of men were loading the shells into the cannon. Another group lifted small metal round disks from a crate and attached them to the shells.

Batgirl looked to the crate. Top Secret and a biohazard symbol could be seen stamped on it.

She held her open palm up to Robin's chest stopping him. "Stay." she commanded.

"Don't really have much choice do I?"

Batgirl leapt down into the squad.

She landed among the fellows attaching the cylinders to the shells taking then out easily with a sweeping roundhouse kick. The shell and disk flew from their hands as they fell unconscious.

Batgirl grabbed the disk from the air, and proceeded to whip it at the person loading the shells in the large cannons.

It stuck him hard in the head then ricocheted to take out the forth person who was in charge of firing the cannon.

Surrounded by the unconscious squad Batgirl clapped her hands calling out to Robin hiding in the brush. "Come now, it's ok."

Dinah awoke to surrounding blackness.

-Where am I? I can't move a muscle. Feels like I've been buried alive.

-Wait. Oh no it's like he said. I'm paralyzed. I can't move. I can't even open my eyes. I'm trapped. Trapped inside my body.

-A sudden wave of panic comes over me and I scream. I scream loud enough to shatter apart everything in hearing range. But no cry emanates from my lips. I scream in silence.

-Even more panic sets in when I realize I can't control my breathing. I should be taking deep gulps of air, instead I'm breathing regular. Gulp! Am I in deep.

-The blackness surrounds me. I'm left with nothing but my own mind, left alone. All alone.

There was a click as the door to the room opened.

"Dinah."

Oracle rolled into the room followed by Hank who carried various packages in his hands. Oracle looked to the unconscious Dinah who lay sprawled out on the hotel room bed. "Oh my god Dinah."

-Barbara. Dinah heard her voice through the blackness.

Hank laid the packages he was carrying on the floor.

"I dunno why you wanted me to bring her here instead of the hospital. It ain't regular for a lady to go all sleeping beauty like that."

"Thanks a lot for your help Hank. You say nothing would wake her up?"

Hank approached Dinah who lay peacefully on the bed.

"I well I ain't no prince charming but I ain't tried every means of awakening Snow White here."

Oracle grabbed Dinah's hand. "Don't worry about her Hank. I'll make sure she'll be all right."

-I feel the warmth of her hand. Barbara oh thank god.

Hank went over to the bathroom sink and poured himself a glass of water. He took a small bottle marked aspirin out of his pocket and rolled a small tablet onto his hand.

"Headache Hank?"

"No ma'am its…"

"A heart condition?"

"That's right. My ticker needs all the help it can get. Especially with me flying in to combat zones and all."

"Well miss I'd better be getting back to my chopper. Hostilities on the front usually begin at first light. If you need me you obviously know how to reach me."

"So long Hank." Oracle called to Hank as he headed out the door clutching the doorknob in his hand.

"So." Robin fingered a round disk in his hand. "This is it huh? The big bad Alpha Omega."

"Yes." Batgirl gathered samples of the disks in her pockets.

Robin sighed staring vacantly ahead as his rolled the disk in his hand. "Because I really couldn't tell you the difference between this and a hock puck."

"Face it Batgirl for the guys who's supposed to be doing the intelligence work. I can't see anything intelligible in my being here anymore. I'm a total liability."

Batgirl spotted some gun cannons peering out of the jungle in the distance.

Batgirl grabbed Robin by the cape and dragged him after her like a dog on a leash as she walked. "You steer."

"What do you mean I stare?" Robin groped the cape in front of him as he was dragged along by Batgirl. "I can't look at anything I'm blind Batgirl remember?"

She dragged Robin toward the darkness.

"Batgirl, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Batgirl blind remember." Batgirl yanked on his cape. He grasped at his neck. "Urk. Maybe it's more like a non seeing eye dog."

"Trust me."

"Trust me Dinah everything's gonna be alright. Everybody, well almost everybody, is down here on the case." Oracle tied a band around her upper arm.

"You know I'm so used to talking to you. It's hard not to talk to you even though you can't hear any of it."

-Talk away Barbara.

Oracle had set up the various strange equipment she had brought with her.

"You just sit tight. I'll get some blood work done." She drew blood from a needle in her arm.

-I don't want to sit tight, I want to move and be free again. Oh god Barbara how can you stand it. How can you stand not being able to walk, being paralyzed?

Barber dropped a few drops of blood onto a white slide. "This sample will take a while to be checked for all known chemical agents. Since it's something top secret we still might not have much to go on."

"Hmm…" She leaned over her with a stereoscope pressed against her chest. "All your vital signs are normal."

-Except for my vitality.

She opened Canary's eye and shined a light in them. "Pupil contraction normal."

-Oh my god Barbara, I can see you. Keep my eyes pried open.

Oracle turned away from her.

-Barbara, damn. All I can do is think at you. Why in the world didn't you bring the Manhunter down here?

The small jet flew high in the air. Alfred looked out the side of the cockpit window at the ground far below them. "It's a good thing you were correct about the GPS coordinates miss Stephanie. The ground below us looks to be littered with antiaircraft guns. I believe they be here to protect farmers fields."

"Farmers need antiaircraft weapons? Wouldn't a scarecrow suffice?"

Alfred pointed out the cockpit window. "Not when ones crops are like that opium poppy field along that hillside. The coca plants to your left and the unmistakable emerald green of the marijuana patches on the right."

"Whoa we've just flown over a huge drug plantation, no wonder they're keeping this place secret."

"How do I look Alfred?" Steph applied the lipstick to her lips.

"So much makeup does not suit your young complexion miss Stephanie. If I may say so you look rather like a painted strumpet."

"I was going more for a ho."

Alfred looked to her confused. "A ho? You mean the gardening instrument or that which is uttered by Santa Claus."

"You do too many crosswords Alfred. You know, a ho. A prostitute." She attached canary shaped earrings to her ear.

"I see." He looked over at her dubiously.

She handed him a small telephone style headset. "Canary gave me a pair of these when I showed her all the cool stuff I got from Batman. You'll can be touch with me at all times Alfred."

"Exactly what are you planning to do miss Stephanie?" Alfred attached the headset.

"Trust me Alfred, guys like slick suit back there, the reason that they primp up and dress so flashy is to attract women. In fact they're usually so arrogant and obnoxious, that they expect women to fall all over them. I can get close to him, maybe find out what he what he can impart."

"Besides Dinah always says to use your body in any way possible."

-There is no possible way I can move any part of my body.

Dinah sat frozen in her blackness.

-God I can't do this, I can't live like this. I'm not like Barb. I'm a doer not a thinker.

Oracle wheeled back toward Dinah. "So what so you think…" Her cell phone rang. "Hold on."

She answered the phone. "Hello."

"Hello miss Cassandra, it's me Hank."

"Hank? What's wrong?"

Hank spoke into his cell phone as he looked at the rear of his chopper, which was full of unconscious men. Various attendants carried the stretchers off the helicopter.

"Well I though you might want to know that near every goddam soldier in the outfit is stone cold dead asleep. The same way as your friend Dinah is."

"Really, how many? What area?"

"Well funny you should ask it was mostly front line troops close to where the shells come down. I been in and out of their all morning bringing in folks. It near seems like I was one of the only ones not affected. "

"Wow."

"Wow is right. If the loyalists decided to attack us at this point they'd roll right over us. There's practically no opposition left."

General Francass looked at his watch. "Tell them to begin the attack." He said to a nearby colonel.

End of Part 3

The Chemical Weapon. m


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4 The Secret of Agent Alpha Omega.

Robin and Batgirl peeked out from where they where hidden in some shrubbery. They saw a group of soldiers surrounding three old and battered tanks. An officer blew his whistle. "We begin the attack now. Get…"

Batgirl leapt in among them. She nailed the first two with a roundhouse kick. She grabbed the side arm pistol from one of the men as he slumped unconscious to the ground.

She swirled around the corner of the tank presenting herself to the view of the rest of the group of soldiers. She let off 3 quick shots from the pistol firing with precision on the guns of the all three of the soldiers who held their weapons in their hands unlike the others who let them hang lose by the straps around their necks.

Batgirl pointed the smoking gun strait at the stunned soldiers as if daring them to touch the rifles slung around their necks.

-Batgirl takes them out so blindingly fast that I'd miss it even if I did have my vision back.

The shocked soldiers raised their hands in the air.

Batgirl ran quickly to get Robin from where he had hidden quite close by. She pressed a rifle into his hand. "You hold them."

Batgirl dragged him from the bushes out in front of the group, she had held at gunpoint.

Robin held his gun on the soldiers, but slightly facing the wrong way. Batgirl looked to him perturbed.

Batgirl turned Robin slightly so that his gun pointed directly at the soldiers.

Batgirl tied a group of soldiers' arms and legs together.

"This isn't working Batgirl. Taking out each unit individually takes too much time, we've got to find a quicker way to stop them from shelling."

"Tanks."

"Uh… you're welcome Batgirl, I guess. But we've still got to stop this more quickly."

Batgirl led Robin to one of the tanks. She placed his hands on the cannon.

"Oh tanks! I get it. Unless of course this is an elephants trunk."

"Sure you don't want me to help you with your swim trunks?" Steph, wearing a bathing suit, tugged at the sleek suited man.

They were in large lounge area. Various sharp suited gangsters sat around the lounge area. While several gangsters lounged by the bar while others lounged around a large sauna. Sleek scantily clad beautiful women hung about the area, pawing over the gangsters.

"Just a second baby, I gotta take care of some business." The suited man winked at her.

"It's all right. You go do your business then before we have our pleasure."

She watched him wander in among a group of gangsters.

"See I told you. These guys are all the same, Alfred."

"Hmm… Yes your insights into the criminal male psyche have proven to be rather accurate."

"Guess that's what comes from having a criminal male psycho for a father."

Batgirl climbed into the manhole at the top of the tank. Robin sat on the top of the tank beside her. "Ok Batgirl you've disabled the other two tanks. Hurry up and put this one out of commission and we'll move on."

Batgirl yanked him by the cape inside the tank. "Urk."

Robin fell inside the tank. "Oof."

Batgirl placed Robin's hands on two leaver controls. "Tank skid steer controllers. You drive."

"What a minute Batgirl, you mean to say you don't know how to drive a car but tanks you've got no problem with?"

"Training."

"Ah I see, actually I can't see. How the hell am I supposed to drive this thing?"

"I will tell you. Go now, forward right." Batgirl peered into a slit.

"Um… just asking Batgirl, exactly why am I driving this? Shouldn't you be driving you're the one who can see?"

"Can't."

"Why can't you? What else do you have to do?"

He heard a sudden blast from the tanks main cannon.

"Batgirl you're at shooting them." Robin screamed alarmed.

"No. Not shooting at… shooting nearby… missing them… scaring them."

"Oh man." He softly added. "You're not only scaring them."

The tank rolled over the terrain. Bands of loyalist soldiers in its path began to run.

-The first thing I think about is that Batman probably wouldn't approve of this.

-The second thing I think is what my excuse will be. "Sorry Batman I was just the wheelman. I didn't pull the trigger." That probably wouldn't go over too well.

The suit led Steph into what looked to be a small sized motel room. A bed lay in the middle of the room. Steph looked to the bedside table she saw a used hypodermic needle resting on top of it.

The suited man ran his hands along Steph's body. "I want you babe."

"You wanna get screwed?" Steph picked up the needle from the bedside table as she reached her arms around him.

"How about a prick in the ass?" She jabbed his butt with the hypodermic needle.

Steph held up the needle in front of him. "You've just been poisoned. Only I have the antidote. That means you tell me what I want to know. Where can I find the cure for the Agent Alpha Omega?"

Spoiler grabbed his neck under her arm.

"Oh you're a feisty one. You must be a friend of the other blondie."

"I'm not kidding around here buddy." She grabbed him tighter around the neck

"Urk. Can't breathe." He turned red.

Steph sneered. "You're sounding a little hoarse, man, with no breath. So unless you're forth coming, you'll sound the coming of the fourth horseman, Death."

"I'll talk, I'll talk." The suit said weakly. Steph loosed the hold around his neck.

"So what's the deal? The general have a deal going with your drug baron friends out there?"

"Yes well this particular cartel would benefit from having Francass back in power, at least they could bribe him. Decapas is proving a good deal more stubborn."

"And what exactly are you getting out of the whole deal?"

"From the cartel I'm getting a few hundred thousand in unmarked bills but honestly that's chump change. I'm not working for them."

"No you're working for the US government under General Mills."

"You know about Mills too?" He looked at her surprised. "Mills is a paranoid cold war era General who thinks Reds are sleeping under his bed at night. He believes Decapas is a communist and therefore wants his regime overthrown. But honestly honey, he's just a means to an end. You really want to know whom I work for honey?"

He tossed her a small card. Pharmephet Corp. was stamped on it.

"Who is this?" Steph looked at the card puzzled.

"That's the manufacturer of agent Alpha Omega. You see with all the bad rap about chemical weapons, you can imagine how hard it is to convince the military to buy more of them. You see there's a public perception that chemical weapons are the weapons that terrorists use. We're trying to sell Alpha Omega as a weapon that can be used against terrorists."

"Huh?"

"Think of it. A gas grenade of Alpha Omega explodes in an area instantly rendering all in the area absolutely immobile. You don't have to worry about hostages or anyone getting killed because they can be given the antidote immediately afterwards and suffer no ill effects. It's the perfect weapon."

Steph looked to him incredulously. "You mean you set this all up as a kind of sales promo for Agent Alpha Omega?"

"Of course. There's a multi million-dollar contract at stake here."

A soldier ran approaching the loyalist Colonel. "Sir, sir."

"What is it? How goes the attack?"

"They're counter attacking. Sir."

"What but, but… the Agent should have taken care of them. I was told that there would be practically no resistance."

Suddenly groups of soldiers came running toward him running from the shrubbery ahead of them. "Retreat! Retreat!"

The colonel held out his hand to stop one of them as he ran past. "You soldier, what's happened? We should be attacking. What happened to our armor."

The soldier looked at the colonel scared. "We only had three tanks and they've all been destroyed."

Suddenly large explosions racked the area in the distance,

What was that?

I told you, they're attacking, sir.

That's impossible.

A tank headed out of the brush towards them. The colonel's eyes widened in terror.

The colonel pointed at a nearby tent. "The rocket! The rocket!"

The soldier ran into the tent.

He reappeared wearing a shoulder held missile launcher.

The tank bore down on them. "Fire!" The colonel commanded.

The soldier fired the rocket.

The rocket hit the tank dead on it exploded into a ball of fire.

The colonel looked to the burning tank. "Good job soldier."

The colonel pointed to the markings on the burning tank. "This is one of our tanks. This is obviously the work of a saboteur. You men get ready and follow me. I've been assured that there'll be no opposition by the general himself."

Dinah lay asleep on the couch. Suddenly she heard a screeching racket. She awoke suddenly. "What the hell?"

She saw Roy Harper sitting in front of the TV set. The volume was turned up as he was watching a rock video. On the screen a longhaired guitarist ran his fingers across the guitar strings. "Uh sorry to wake you up Dinah, I didn't see you sleeping there."

Canary pressed her hands over her ears. "What is that awful music you're listening to?''

"Hey this is good stuff. Hard rocking speed metal."

"So Speedy likes the speed metal." She stared at the screen in confusion. "This video is confusing what does the guy all bandaged up in the bed have to do with the song?"

"That guy in the bed was injured in war and lost all capacity to interact with the outside word. He can't move, see, hear, talk, nothing. It's kind of what the song is about."

"You mean he's just lying there more or less paralyzed? My god how horrible. I can't imagine anything worse."

"Yeah, he wants to die but he can't even communicate that to the doctors around him. Well until this part." Roy threw his head forward in a head banging motion and strummed his air guitar. "I love this part. See he uses Morse code. He's sending out an S.O.S."

Dinah awoke from her half dream into blackness.

-Huh what? An S.O.S. that's it an SOS. Am I out of my mind? Why didn't I think of it sooner? Now I can tell her what to do."

"Do this Dinah. Do that Dinah." Oracle worked over some equipment. "I don't mean to always tell you what do but it seems like you'd sooner I do the thinking for you. You don't mind it."

Oracle looked down on the still body of Canary. "I'm sorry Dinah, I'm sorry I'm such a selfish human being that I had to use your body to get my vicarious thrills."

-Barbara it's ok you can make use of my body. I don't care. Just please make it so that I can use my body again.

"I'm supposed to be so independent with no handles on my wheelchair. I never let you get close. I only gave you my Oracle handle, before, not my real name. And I because I can't be hands on, I get you to handle things because I'm handicapped."

-You're handicapped? You just can't move your legs and feet. You're capable of amazing feats. I'm the one lying here paralyzed and defeated.

The colonel led his group of soldiers forward through the thick jungle.

"Trust me men. You won't have to worry about a thing. "

Suddenly they heard machine gun fire from far on the ridge. The soldiers looked around started.

The colonel pointed. "There he is on the left."

The soldiers fired their automatic riffles at the area where the muzzle fire had come from.

Suddenly to their right, hidden from them in the dense brush, another weapon was fired.

The colonel pointed. "There!"

And again a volley of bullets was unleashed on the area.

Another soldier pointed as gunfire rattled in the background. "No there."

A soldier fired of his weapon. "Over here too! We're surrounded!"

The soldiers stood back to back firing all around them.

Batgirl ran along hearing the firing in the distance behind her. She had several automatic weapons slung over her shoulder.

She neared a hollow, snuck down inside it and removed one of the guns from her shoulder.

She took some twine and wound it around the trigger on the rifle.

She slung some twine between a ringed hoop she had imbedded in the tree.

She harnessed the rifle to the tree above her.

She stealthily crept away, slinging the twine in her hand behind her.

She snuck back to Robin who was sitting with his back to a large tree. He held several pieces of twine in his hands. He tugged at one intermittently. A ratatattat could be heard behind him.

"I haven't killed any of them have I? Cause I'm shooting blind here."

"Still blind?"

"Some of it is starting to come back. I can see fuzzy shapes. The swellings gone down a bit." He held his hand to his puffy eyes.

Suddenly Robin doubled over and held his head in his hands.

"Oh man, the headache like before but 10 times worse."

Batgirl looked at him sympathetically. "Yes sorry. One side affect… to pain killing technique. Pain comes back but worse. I can do it again if you like."

Robin bent forward and vomited.

Robin looked up at her weakly. "No way in hell. Er…thanks anyway though."

Oracle looked to the still Dinah. "Still no change in her condition. If I don't get some information soon…"

She looked to Canary's closed eyes. "Wait a second her eyelids are fluttering slightly."

She pried open the eyelids again to shine a light in them. "My god, your eyes are darting back and forth. Is it an involuntary reaction or…"

"No wait. The pattern is too irregular. Too… oh my god. Dinah you can hear me can't you?" Dinah darted here eyes back and forth in a series of dots and dashes.

"Yes, yes you can. Morse code. What's that you keep repeating A.S.A., A.S.A. What the…? That doesn't make any sense. Are you trying to say S.O.S.?"

-No I'm not trying to say S.O.S. you idiot.

I mean A.S.A. is acetylsalicylic acid. Aspirin.

-Yes, yes that's right. Aspirin.

Barbara's eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh my god aspirin like Hank takes for his heart. That's the cure that's why Hank never got infected."

-Thank you Barbara, thank you.

Canary looked up into the face of Barb. A single teardrop ran down the side of her face.

Steph faced the sharp suited man. "Come on buddy give it up. Give me the cure for Alpha Omega or you'll never get the antidote to the poison I dosed you with."

"I'm afraid that's something I can't do. You see if the secret behind the cure for Alpha Omega becomes available to the public, then the agent no longer becomes an effective weapon."

"You mean your friends in the military won't wanna buy your product then."

"My dear, a weapon is a weapon. Its purpose is to kill, be it a handgun, a grenade, or chemical agents like you have, rather hypocritically I might add, stuck me with. How about this for a deal. "

He whipped around pulling a revolver on Steph. "You give me the antidote or I kill you."

He sneered at her. "It wasn't very smart of you letting me out of the headlock. Now hand over the antidote."

Alfred's spoke into his radio. "Miss Stephanie. It seems our efforts in this matter were not entirely necessary, you should return to the jet as soon as possible I have received some rather good news."

"You think you can just pull a gun on me?" Spoiler's voice came over Alfred's radio.

"Oh dear, that isn't good news at all." Alfred pushed forward on the of the planes controllers.

The suit pointed the gun squarely at Steph. "C'mon hand it over honey."

"Aspirin." Steph smiled at him.

"What?" The suits face drew back in shock.

"Aspirin, that's the cure."

"How did you?" With this revelation the suit became angry. "Goddam you. The antidote now or I'll shoot your pretty legs off."

He pointed his gun toward Steph's thigh.

She grabbed his gun hand and flipped him over onto the bed removing the gun from his hands.

"There was no poison. I just stuck you with a dirty needle. The only thing you'll have to worry about is that you don't get aids. There's no cure for that."

Steph saw a large jet pull up just along outside the room's large window. "Sorry my rides here."

Steph pointed the gun at the man as she opened the nearby window and climbed out.

She ran toward the jet, which had its side door open.

Steph ran throwing herself into the jet.

The suit ran into the lounge area where the gangsters lay about. "Stop that jet on the runway!" He shouted.

The plane barreled down the runway.

Several men all fashionably dressed fired machine guns at it.

Steph slid her bikini-clad form into the co pilot's seat. "Made that one by the skin of my teeth."

Alfred pulled up on the joystick. "I'd say it was rather more skin then that. I see you didn't feel the need to keep up with the pretence of being pilots seeing as you have abandoned your uniform."

Alfred stared at the large guns below them. "I would buckle in tightly if I were you miss Stephanie. Soon, I think, we shall be under antiaircraft fire."

Oracle spoke over her headset. "You got that Hank?"

"Aspirin, huh? All right miss Cassandra I hear ya."

Oracle injected a needle into Dinah's arm. "Dinah come on back."

Canary's eyes popped open. She whispered softly. "I'm back."

She suddenly sprang up in the bed. "I'm baaack! I'm Back in Black, Canary! Whoo!"

Canary flung her head forward in a head banging motion, and played the air guitar. "I'm alive. Ha, ha. I can move every muscle in my body."

"Dinah you ok? You aren't suffering from some sort of side effect?"

"Oh it's ok, Barb." She hugged Oracle around the neck.

"I was just thinking about the music that Speedy used to listen to." Canary sprang to her feet.

"Oh. I guess. I really don't listen to that much music anymore. Oh thank god you're back Dinah. You really had me worried."

Canary danced around the room playing her air guitar. "God you can't imagine how free it feels to be able to move, to dance like this."

She stopped suddenly. And stared at Barbara. "Oh geez. I didn't mean. I mean."

"It's ok Dinah."

Dinah's eyes widened in realization. "That's why you don't listen much to music anymore. You miss the dancing."

Barbara stared at her sadly. "Dinah…"

She approached the wheelchair, and laid her hands on it.

"I don't know what to say Barbara. I don't know if I could stand that chair. I don't know if I would have the strength for that." Tears streamed down her face.

Barbara hugged her as Dinah sobbed in her arms.

Various soldiers from around the make shift hospital began to stir.

"Nearly everybody's been inoculated." A doctor carrying a syringe came up to Hank.

"None too soon should they decide to attack."

Soldiers ran into the area. "Someone approaches."

Hank looked into the distance to see a dark caped figure with the body of a brightly colored caped figure slung over her shoulder. "Looks like one of em's wearing one of those yellow radiation suits. She said to look out a strangely dressed pair. That's gotta be them."

Hank jumped out in front of the soldiers pointing their rifles at the pair. "Hold your fire. They're friends of mine."

Hank squinted as stared quizzically at the oncoming pair. "I have some pretty strange friends it seems."

Batgirl's cape flapped behind her as she carried Robin to the hospital.

Robin looked out the airplane window.

-Sometimes the most important reminders of what we have in live is when were forced to go without.

-Dinah went with her without her own body and almost lost her mind.

-Barb, Barb went without her buddy and almost lost her friend.

-Steph and Alfred went off without a warning and lost a good part of their fuselage. (They landed safe though. Alfred sure knows how to handle an aircraft.)

-And I, I went without seeing.

Robin and Batgirl pressed their faces out the airplane window.

-And lost my blindness.

"The Chemical Weapon" by Magnus Parvus


End file.
